The present invention relates to livestock transport trailers, and, in particular, to an adaptation for a livestock transport trailer that will permit the trailer to be used for holding and treating livestock in addition to transporting the livestock.
Livestock transport trailers are well-known. The most popular trailers are those with a "gooseneck" hitch, which connects to the bed of a truck. Most cattle ranchers have these trailers and use them to transport cattle from one field to another, from the ranch to market, and so forth, but livestock transport trailers are not currently designed to be used as a means for securing livestock for medical treatment.
Many types of treatment are given to livestock. They are given shots, branded, de-horned, castrated, inspected for illness or injury, and so forth. In order to give livestock these treatments, the livestock must be caught and held securely during the treatment. Catch gates are known and are used for that purpose. Most catch gates are stationary and are simply mounted across an opening in a fence out in the field. Some catch gates are portable and are mounted at the end of a portable chute that can be transported from one field to another and then inserted across an opening in a fence. The portable chute is then lowered to ground level so that it can support the weight of the cattle and so that the cattle can enter and leave the chute at ground level. Then, it is necessary to herd the cattle into a confined space adjacent to that opening and then release them one at a time through the opening, catching each one as it passes through the catch gate and treating the animal before releasing it into the open field.
Creating the confined space and herding the cattle into the confined space is hard work, requiring a substantial amount of time and labor. Generally, at least two and preferably more people are needed to do the job.